Tuesday, August 18, 1998 Last modified at 1:11 a.m. on Tuesday, August 18, 1998

Fire Ant Invasion

Here in the past few months, there has been a large increase in the fire ant population in the Lubbock and South Plains areas.

I have encountered some of these ants in a number of locations inside the city limits of Lubbock and also out here on our acreage just to the west on New Home.

If people are not aware of the sting of the fire ant, they should know its sting causes a burning sensation, and could even be life-threatening to babies, small animals, kittens and puppies - and also to people if they have an allergy to some types of pest bites or stings.

I have dug into fire ant mounds while working. Luckily I was able to get most of the fire ants off before they were able to sting me too bad.

Please understand what a terrible toll the country and wildlife have taken because of the ban of chlordane, one of the best fire ant and termiticide chemicals known to man.

Since the ban of this chemical by the government, in 1986, we have lost billions and billions of dollars of farm and ranch land, livestock and wildlife to both the fire ant and subterranean termite.

Now, we can go to the supermarket and purchase fruits and vegetables - grown in Old Mexico, to feed our families - that have been treated or sprayed with chlordane, but we are not allowed to protect and treat our land and houses with chlordane.